Datacom and Land Information New Zealand (LINZ) today announced the release of an industry first mobile maritime application called ‘Hnotes’, which can be used to streamline the reporting process for hazards out at sea.
Currently, mariners are requested to notify the New Zealand Hydrographic Authority at LINZ when new or suspected dangers to navigation are discovered. Mariners complete an online process and this information is then sent to a dedicated address that determines the immediacy of the response.
As part of the ongoing Datacom-LINZ partnership, the ‘Ideas and Concepts Forum’ Innovation programme has been developed to identify and develop industry-leading mobile applications.
Datacom New Zealand CEO Greg Davidson says the mobile maritime app is the first of a suite of applications identified and designed through the Datacom-LINZ innovation programme, “The app has been designed to allow people to report hazards immediately on a multitude of devices using Apple iOS, Google Android and Blackberry.”
LINZ chief executive Peter Mersi says that, with the increasing popularity of smartphones and other mobile devices, it made sense to create apps like Hnote.
“Everyone seems to have a smartphone these days, so it seems sensible to take advantage of this technology.
“This app will enable mariners to report hazards and issues with charts or navigation to the NZHA while they’re still faced with them – rather than having to wait until they get back on dry land.”
The mobile maritime app can be used far out to sea, as it stores information locally until the user is back in range of a network.